JP4799556B2 - System and method for geographically positioning cellular devices - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to systems and methods for geographically positioning cellular devices, and in particular to the use of said systems and methods for positioning vehicles in traffic information systems. The present invention is applicable to all types of devices communicating over a wireless network, such as, but not limited to, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, CDMA and broadband CDMA based networks.

  The geographical determination of the location of cellular devices such as mobile phones is useful in a variety of applications, including applications in the field of location-based services. For example, in the traffic information system, the position of the vehicle may be determined based on the position of the cellular device of the driver in order to form an image of the traffic state. The location of a cellular device or similar wireless device can be determined based on data obtained from the cellular network itself. In particular, the location of the device can be specified in relation to the network cell positioning the cellular device, defined by a cellular identifier, possibly plus other data such as time advance.

  Some other techniques are based on sampling data using, for example, signal strength power measurement reports from mobile devices at a relatively low level (close to the base station) of the network, such as the Abis interface in the GSM network. Related to. Technologies based on low-level interfaces of the network are problematic and expensive to implement. Certain other techniques applied to traffic monitoring record handover patterns by driving the routes individually and store the patterns in a database used for subsequent route determination based on pattern matching. Is based on that.

  None of these alternative techniques provide a cost effective and accurate technique for determining the geographical location of a cellular device. The present invention seeks to provide an improved technique for determining the geographical location of a cellular device.

According to one aspect of the present invention, in a method for geographically positioning a cellular device, the method includes determining an effective cell area for each of a first cell and a second cell in a cellular network;
Determining a handover area in which the cellular device will be located when control of the cellular device is transferred from the first cell to the second cell;
A method is provided wherein the determination of the handover area and effective cell area of each of the first cell and the second cell is based on a topological relationship between the first cell and the second cell.

  According to another aspect of the invention, in a method for geographically positioning a cellular device, the method locates the cellular device when control of the cellular device is transferred from one or more first cells to a second cell. Determining a handover area that would be. The determination of the handover area and the effective cell area is preferably based on the topological relationship between the related cells. In a CDMA based network, this determination is related to multiple cells in the active set.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in a method for geographically positioning a cellular device, the method determines an effective cell area for a plurality of cells of a cellular network and a handover area in which the cellular device will be located. Including the step of determining. The determination of the handover area and the effective cell area of each of the plurality of cells is based on the topological relationship of the plurality of cells.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in a method for geographically positioning a cellular device, the method determines an effective cell area for each of a first cell and a second cell of a cellular network, and the control of the cellular device is performed first. Determining a handover area in which the cellular device will be located when transferred from one cell to a second cell. The determination of the handover area and the effective cell area of each of the first cell and the second cell is based on the topological relationship between the first cell and the second cell.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of geographically positioning a cellular device in a cellular network including a first antenna of a first cell and a second antenna of a second cell, comprising: (i) a first cell; Determining an effective radius R _i for each of i different phase relationship sets between the first cell and the second cell; (ii) when the first antenna is included in the second cell; and When the angle β formed by the line between the antenna and the second antenna and the sector limit line of the second cell is smaller than the angle α, the angle α by which the second cell extends beyond the sector limit line is determined. a step, determining a first extension width E ₁ of the first rectangular extension portion which is added to the sector limit line of (iii) the angle β is the second cell at a smaller angle alpha, is (iv) a first antenna When outside the second cell and the sector limit line of the second cell and the first When the interior angle formed between the line between the burner and the second antenna is not less than 180 degrees, the second extension width E ₂ of the second rectangular extension portion which is added to the sector limit line of the second cell a step of determining, (v) and the first Hankagehaba W ₁ of the first rectangular strip between the equal intensity line of the signal received from the first antenna and the second antenna, as let's cellular device is moved determining a first strip limit adjacent to are cells, a second Hankagehaba W ₂ of the second rectangular strip between the line (vi) such as strength, out therefrom cellular device is moved Determining a second strip limit adjacent to the cell being attempted; and (vii) a handover area in which the cellular device will be located when control of the cellular device is transferred from the first cell to the second cell Determining the handover area. The step, effective radius _{R i,} the angle alpha, the first extension width _{E 1,} the second extension width _{E 2,} first Hankagehaba _{W 1,} for determining based on at least a subset of the second Hankagehaba _{W 2} And a method comprising:

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for geographically positioning a cellular device by determining an area where a handover of a first cell or set of cells and another cell occurs occurs, the method comprising: Modeling a cell or a set of cells and at least a portion of a cell coverage area of the other cell, and defining a handover area including an overlapping portion of the first cell or set of cells and the other cell area A method comprising the steps of:

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for geographically positioning a cellular device by determining an area where a handover from a first cell to a second cell occurs, the method comprising: A method is provided that includes modeling at least a portion of a cell reception area of a second cell and defining a handover area that includes overlapping portions of the first cell and the second cell area.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in a method of monitoring traffic flow by determining a continuous position of a plurality of cellular devices arranged in a plurality of vehicles, the method includes at least one of the plurality of cellular devices. A method is provided that includes repeatedly determining the position of the platform. This determination preferably determines a current view of the traffic flow by sampling at least some positions of the cellular device. Determining the location of a plurality of cellular devices includes determining an area where a handover from a first cell or set of cells to another cell occurs, wherein the handover determination includes the first cell or cell It is based on modeling a set and at least part of the cell reception area of the second cell and defining a handover area that includes an overlapping portion of the first and second cell areas.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in a method of monitoring traffic flow by determining a continuous position of a plurality of cellular devices arranged in a plurality of vehicles, the method includes at least one of the plurality of cellular devices. A method is provided that includes repeatedly determining the position of the platform. This determination preferably determines a current view of the traffic flow by sampling at least some positions of the cellular device. Determining the location of a plurality of cellular devices includes determining an area where a handover from a first cell or set of cells to another cell occurs, wherein the handover determination includes the first cell or cell It is based on modeling at least a portion of a cell reception area of a set and the other cell and defining a handover area that includes an overlapping portion of the first and another cell area.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in a method of monitoring traffic flow by determining a continuous position of a plurality of cellular devices arranged in a plurality of vehicles, the method includes at least one of the plurality of cellular devices. A method is provided that includes repeatedly determining the position of the platform. This determination preferably determines a current view of the traffic flow by sampling at least some positions of the cellular device. Determining the location of the plurality of cellular devices includes determining an area where a handover from the first cell to the second cell occurs, wherein the handover determination includes the cells of the first cell and the second cell. It is based on modeling at least a part of the reception area and defining a handover area that includes an overlapping part of the first and second cell areas.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in an apparatus for geographically positioning a cellular device, the device includes an effective cell area module that determines an effective cell area for each of a first cell and a second cell in a cellular network; An apparatus is provided that includes a handover area module that determines a handover area in which the cellular apparatus will be located when control of the cellular apparatus is transferred from the first cell to the second cell. The determination of the handover area and the effective cell area of each of the first cell and the second cell is based on the phase relationship between the first cell and the second cell.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, in an apparatus for geographically positioning a cellular device by determining an area where a handover from a first cell to a second cell occurs, the device comprises the first cell and the An apparatus comprising: an effective cell area module that models at least a portion of a cell reception area of a second cell; and a handover area module that defines a handover area that includes overlapping portions of the first and second cell areas. Provided.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for monitoring traffic flow by determining a continuous position of a plurality of cellular devices arranged in a plurality of vehicles. The apparatus includes (i) a handover area module that defines a handover area that includes an overlapping portion of at least some modeled cell reception areas of each of the first and second cells of the cellular network; and (ii) a plurality of A sampler module that samples a set of repetitive position determinations of at least some of the cellular devices to determine a current view of traffic flow, each of the position determinations being a specific first cell of the cellular network Based at least in part on the handover area defined by the handover area module of the particular cellular device moving between the cell and the second cell.

According to another aspect of the invention, in a method for geographically positioning a cellular device, the method comprises:
Using an algorithm for determining a handover area in which a cellular device will be located when the network control function performs a handover related to the addition of a cell to the active set of cells, and
A method is provided wherein determining a handover area includes modeling based on a phase relationship between a plurality of cells of an active set.

According to another aspect of the invention, in a method for geographically positioning a cellular device, the method comprises:
Using an algorithm to determine an area in which the cellular device will be located when the control function records an event connectable to simultaneous control of one or more cells, and determining the area A method is provided that includes modeling based on a phase relationship between a plurality of cells.

According to another aspect of the invention, in a device for geographically positioning a cellular device, the device comprises:
An effective cell area module that determines an effective cell area for each of a plurality of cells in an active set of cells defined in association with the mobile device;
A handover area module that determines a handover area in which the cellular device will be located when the network control function performs a handover related to the addition of a cell to the active set of cells, and
An apparatus is provided in which determination of an effective cell area for each of a handover area and a plurality of cells is based on a phase relationship between the plurality of cells.

According to another aspect of the invention, in a method for geographically positioning a cellular device by determining an area where a handover from a first cell or group of cells to another cell occurs, the method comprises:
Modeling at least a portion of cell coverage of the first cell or group of cells and the other cell;
Defining a handover area that includes overlapping portions of the first cell or group of cells and the other cells;
A method is provided comprising:

According to another aspect of the invention, in a device for geographically positioning a cellular device, the device comprises:
An effective cell area module that determines an effective cell area for each of a plurality of cells in an active set of cells defined in association with the mobile device;
A handover area module that determines a handover area in which the cellular device will be located when the network control function performs a handover related to the addition of a cell to the active set of cells, and
An apparatus is provided in which determination of a handover area and an effective cell area of each of a plurality of cells is based on a phase relationship between the plurality of cells.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in a method for monitoring traffic flow by determining a continuous position of a plurality of cellular devices arranged in a plurality of vehicles, the method comprises:
Repeatedly determining at least some positions of the plurality of cellular devices;
Sampling at least some locations of the cellular device to determine a traffic flow diagram; and
Determining the location of the plurality of cellular devices includes determining an area where the handover occurs, wherein the handover determination includes
Modeling at least a portion of a cell coverage area of a first cell or group of cells and another cell;
Defining a handover area that includes an overlapping portion of the first cell area or group of cells and the other cell area;
A method based on is provided.

According to another aspect of the invention, in an apparatus for geographically positioning a cellular device by determining an area where a handover from a first cell or group of cells to another cell occurs, the device comprises:
An effective cell area module that models at least a portion of a cell coverage area of the first cell or group of cells and the other cell;
An apparatus is provided that includes a handover area module that defines a handover area that includes an overlapping portion of the first cell or group of cells and another cell area.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in an apparatus for monitoring traffic flow by determining a continuous position of a plurality of cellular devices arranged in a plurality of vehicles, the apparatus comprises:
A handover area module that defines a handover area that includes an overlapping portion of a first cell or group of cells of a cellular network and at least a portion of a modeled cell reception area of each of another cell;
A sampler module that samples a repetitive position determination set of at least a portion of a plurality of cellular devices to determine a current view of traffic flow, each position determination being a specific first cell of a cellular network Or an apparatus is provided that is based at least in part on a handover area defined by a handover area module of a particular cellular device that moves between a group of cells and another cell.

  Thus, while techniques for determining the location of a cellular device based on the network cell in which the device is located are known, the accuracy of the technique is limited by the large geographic area covered by each cell. Other techniques are also known that use special machines to actively monitor the position of a specific handset on demand. However, the technique places a load on the network and is therefore costly and capacity limited.

  Additional advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the accompanying drawings, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

  Cellular networks operate using network antennas, each of which communicates messages to cellular devices located in specific areas called cells. Since the cell areas from different antennas overlap, the operating area of the cellular network is completely covered. At any particular time, the cellular device is under the control of a single cell in the network. The control cell usually has the strongest reception strength at the location of the cellular device. When a cellular device is moving, it moves from cell to cell and its control is “handed over” from one cell to another.

  The operation and management of the cellular network requires monitoring a number of events that occur in connection with the cellular device. The event is associated with the call it is executing, eg, call initiation and call termination, and its movement, such as location update and handover. The following description uses certain GSM technical terms, but is intended to refer to similar terms in other network technologies when used.

  The use of all or some of these events, particularly those recorded with an “A interface” (or “parallel” in some network technologies), is a cost-effective way to position cellular devices. I will provide a. In the following, a method for extracting a location from a handover event is described, but this can also be used for other events that are recorded and can be connected to simultaneous control of one or more cells.

  Although the preferred embodiment disclosed herein describes a hard handover that can be applied, for example, to a GSM-based network, the principles and advantages of the present invention include soft handover and a combination of hard and soft handover. The same applies to the above. In this context, the most basic form of handover is that used in many 1G and 2G systems, where a device with an ongoing call can call from a single transmitter, receiver and frequency pair. Are redirected to other cell transmitters and receivers using different frequency pairs without interruption. If a terminal can only connect to one base station and therefore needs to be disconnected when connecting to another, this is considered a hard handover.

  In CDMA, including WCDMA-based systems, one skilled in the art will recognize that a user can connect to several base stations at the same time and combine data from all transmitters in range using a RAKE receiver. A set of base stations to which terminals are connected simultaneously is called an “active set”. There are several base stations in the active set, and the terminal disconnects any of these to add new base stations or new ones without disconnecting existing base stations from the active set When adding a base station, a “soft handover” occurs. In W-CDMA there is a special case called “softer handover” where several connections in the active set point to the same base station. Softer handover occurs when one of these connections is disconnected for the other from the same base station. There are also internal system handovers in which the connection is transferred from one access technology to another, for example a call transferred from GSM to W-CDMA. The principles and advantages of the present invention are applicable with respect to all the above types of handovers, and the detailed implementation and / or actual advantages in each case may vary in a simple manner recognized by those skilled in the art, Range terms should be recognized accordingly.

  Thus, at a particular point in time, the cell device is under the control of one of the networks (in the GSM network) or multiple cells. The control cell or control cells are those whose reception has been deemed appropriate for the purpose, and the event that gives (or adds) control to a new cell is referred to herein as “handover”. A handover event thus refers to an instantaneous situation (the exact time is included in the event record) where the cellular telephone is under the control of two or more cells, ie, approximately equal receiving stations in the cell. This means that by drawing an area where all the cells have approximately equal reception, it can be assumed that a cellular telephone can be positioned within this area with high probability.

  For clarity of explanation, the following example embodiment refers to the case of control transfer between two cells, suitable for a GSM network, but the same method can be implied when more than one cell is involved. For example, it may be applied to the active set of cells in a CDMA-based network by applying the principles and methods described below to all these cells.

  Often, a handover event such as a GSM network involving cell A and cell B occurs when the signal strength from the cell A antenna is higher than that of the cell B antenna and the signal strength from the cell B antenna is cell A. Occurs when the cellular device moves to an area higher than that of the antenna. Thus, a handover event theoretically occurs when a cellular device crosses the line of equal strength signals from both cells. In practice, however, handovers do not occur accurately with isointensity lines, but within a penumbra area around the isointensity lines. The shape and size of the penumbra area depends on various parameters, including the relative position of the cells involved, determined by the position and orientation of the antenna.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, by determining a “handover area”, which is an area where handover from cell A to cell B occurs with high probability, a cellular device can be geographically located with high accuracy when a handover occurs. A technique for positioning is disclosed. Since the handover area is known to be smaller on average than the cell area, this technique provides better accuracy than the technique that uses only the cell area to locate the device. In addition, handover events are recorded by the cellular network management system and can therefore be used without additional costs, so this technique is relatively economical.

  To implement the preferred embodiment, a polygon is constructed to represent the handover area. To do this, four simplification assumptions are used.

  First, the antenna has a simplified assumption that the control area (cell area) of the antenna is typically a 120 degree sector (sector), the center of which is the antenna. For example, in the embodiment of FIG. See sector 101 centered on antenna 100.

  Second, the simplistic assumption is made that while the cellular device is located in the sector, the received strength of the signal from the antenna is inversely proportional to the distance from the antenna. Ignore other factors that affect the received strength of the signal from the antenna, such as the exact azimuth of the antenna, the effects of reflection, and the effects of multipath, because the effects of these factors are limited And often statistically offset each other.

  The third simplification assumption is that the reception strength from the antenna outside the sector is considerably lower than the reception strength within the sector.

  A fourth simplification assumption is that a handover from one cell to another occurs within a reasonable distance from the point where the cellular device receives equal strength signals from both antennas.

  Based on these assumptions, embodiments according to the present invention initially model the cell coverage as a sector of finite radius. Beyond this radius, reception occurs but is much weaker than reception within the radius. There is a weak reception area beyond the sector limit line in the area behind the antenna in the opposite direction of the sector. In some cases, control over cellular devices can be handed over within these weak coverage areas. Embodiments in accordance with the present invention therefore extend cell coverage areas initially modeled as sectors to these weak coverage areas under certain circumstances. In view of the effect of such conditions, the cell sector area is probably expanded (or not), and the generation model of cell reception is referred to herein as the effective cell area. As will be seen below, whether to expand the cell sector area can be determined based on the relative position and direction between the two antennas on which the device is moving. For example, when the antenna of one cell is located in the sector of the other cell, but very close to the sector limit (as in the embodiment of FIG. 5), or the antenna of one cell has a specific shape and the other Expansion is performed when located outside the sector of the cell (as in the embodiment of FIG. 6). In these cases, the effective cell area includes an extension that exceeds the sector limit. Also, the radius of the sector can be expanded or decreased in some cases based on the distance between the antennas of the two cells, and this generated radius is termed the effective radius of the cell.

  Taking these effects into account, embodiments of the present invention provide a combination of two areas: 1) the overlapping portion of the effective cell area between the two cells in which the cellular device is moving, and 2) the two cells. A polygon representing the handover area is constructed from the penumbra area around the isointensity line between the antennas. As can be seen from the following, the relative position of the two cells plays an important role in determining these two areas, and there is a case where the penumbra area cannot be defined, and therefore only the effective cell area is used. There is also.

  1 to 4 illustrate four possible topological relative positions of two cells according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the first cell 101 and the second cell 102 have antennas located at the same point 100. In FIG. 2, the first cell 201 generated by the first antenna 203 is positioned opposite to the second cell 202 generated by the second antenna 204, the two cells are positioned at different points, and the antennas facing each other are arranged. Have. In FIG. 3, the first cell 301 and the second cell 302 have antennas 303 and 304 located at different points, and the sectors do not overlap. FIG. 4 shows an example that does not belong to the topological classification of FIGS. 1 to 3, and represents all other phase cases. In this case, the antennas 403 and 404 are located at different locations, face each other at an acute angle, and the sectors 401 and 402 overlap.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, the method of geographically positioning a cellular device comprises three steps, firstly, determining the effective cell area of each cell, and secondly, a penumbra area around the isointensity line. And thirdly, determining a handover area by combining the areas determined in the first and second stages.

The first stage of the embodiment according to the invention comprises the step of determining the effective cell area of each cell. For this purpose, the effective radius of the cell sector is first determined. The existence of the radius is premised on the second simplification assumption, that is, the reception strength of the antenna in the sector attenuates in inverse proportion to the distance from the antenna. The determination of the effective radius depends on the phase case involved, and in the phase of the embodiment of FIG. 1 where the antenna is located at the same point 100, the effective radius is R ₁ , 103. In all other phase cases illustrated in the embodiments of FIGS. 2-4, the effective radius is equal to R _i * D, where D is the distance between the antennas and R _i is a different constant element in each phase case. (That is, with respect to FIGS. 2-4, the indices i = 2, 3 and 4). According to embodiments of the present invention, other methods of determining the effective radius may be used, including other methods of relating the increased distance between the antennas to the increased effective radius.

  Then, after determining the effective radius of the cell sector, the effective cell area is determined by extending the cell sector beyond the edge of the sector in some cases. This determines the side line of the effective cell area. The extension of a cell sector beyond the edge of the sector is for example two cases: 1) One antenna is very close to its limit line and the other cell's And 2) as illustrated with reference to the embodiment of FIGS. 6A and 6B, one antenna is outside the sector of the other cell, and the line connecting the limit line and both antennas Necessary when the internal angle between is greater than 180 degrees.

In the case of the first extension shown in the embodiment of FIG. 5, the angles β and 503 formed by the line 505 between the two antennas 501 and 502 and one of the limit lines 506 of the first sector are defined by a predetermined angle α. , Smaller than 504. The predetermined angle α is predetermined as an angle that ensures that the antenna 502 is sufficiently close to the limit line 506 to extend the cell area beyond the edge of the sector. When the angle β is less than α, the sector is expanded only on one side, the side 506 proximate to the second antenna 502. A relatively small rectangular extension 508 having a width dimension E ₁ , 507 is added to the side 506 of the sector.

In the second extension case, first described with reference to the embodiment of FIG. 6A, the second antenna 602 is outside the limits of the sector 603 of the first antenna 601. In such a case, the internal angle, ie, the angle formed between the edge 607 or 608 of the sector 603 and the line 609 between the two antennas 601 and 602, including the first sector 603 itself, is greater than 180 degrees. Whether it is determined. If so, the extension is made to sector edge 607 or 608 where the condition is met. For example, consider edge 607 of sector 603. The internal angle between edge 607 and line 609 is angle 605, which is greater than 180 degrees. Accordingly, the edge 607 is expanded by the rectangular extension 610. Similarly, considering the edge 608 of sector 603, the internal angle between edge 608 and line 609 is angle 606, which is greater than 180 degrees. Accordingly, the edge 608 is expanded by the rectangular extension 611. In the second extension case of FIGS. 6A and 6B, rectangular extensions such as extensions 610 and 611 have a width E ₂ that is relatively larger than the widths E ₁ and 507 of the rectangular extensions of FIG. Also, as in the extension portion 610 and 611 of the sector 603, when there are two rectangular extensions in a sector, two extensions are the same width E _2, the two far corners 623 and 624 of the rectangular extension By connecting, another triangular extension 612 is created at the rear of the antenna 601. A large extension is created in sector 603 because antenna 602 is outside the sector limits of antenna 601 (and the internal angle criterion is satisfied), but the reverse is not necessarily true for other sectors. It should be noted. That is, in this case, since the antenna 601 is inside the sector 604, the sector 604 is not expanded by the second type expansion.

  The embodiment of FIG. 6B shows another example of a second type of extension in which only one edge of the sector is extended by a large extension instead of two. In particular, antenna 615 is outside sector 616 of antenna 614. However, the internal angle 622 between the sector edge 617 and the line 620 is correctly equal to 180 degrees (and therefore not greater than 180 degrees), and therefore the edge 617 is not expanded. In contrast, the internal angle 621 between the sector edge 618 and the line 620 is greater than 180 degrees, so a second type of extension is made to the edge 618.

Once the effective cell area is determined (in this embodiment, by determining the effective radius and, in some cases, by expanding the edge of the sector), the second stage refers to the embodiment of FIGS. As shown, determining a penumbra area around a line of equal strength between the two antennas. In this example, the penumbra area around the isointensity line is modeled as an asymmetric rectangular strip around the isointensity line. The width W ₁ between the line of equal intensity and the strip limit of the side of the cell that the cellular device is about to enter is longer than the width W ₂ of the side of the cell that the cellular device is about to exit. For example, referring to the embodiment of FIG. 7, the penumbra area around the isointensity line 710 is formed by two rectangular strips 706 and 707, of the side strip 706 of the sector 704 in which the cellular device is about to enter. The width W ₁ 708 is greater than the width W ₂ 709 of the strip 707 on the side of the sector 705 that the cellular device is about to exit. Each strip is formed between an equal strength line 710 and strip limits 711 and 712. Similarly, referring to the embodiment of FIG. 8, the penumbra area around isointensity line 808 is formed by two rectangular strips 806 and 807, the strip on the side of sector 805 in which the cellular device is about to enter. The width W ₁ , 809 of the 806 is greater than the width W ₂ , 810 on the side of the sector 804 that the cellular device is about to exit.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, when determining the penumbra area around the isointensity line, it is necessary to determine the position of the isointensity line, which varies according to the phase case. In the first phase case of the embodiment of FIG. 1, which is also the case of FIG. 7, the isointensity lines are the bisectors 710 of the cell azimuth angles 702 and 703 (which are formed from the antenna location 701). In the second and third phase cases of the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3, the isointensity line is a center line approximately perpendicular to the line connecting the two antennas. For example, in FIG. 8 corresponding to the phase case of FIG. 2, the isointensity line is a center line 808 perpendicular to the line 803 connecting the antennas 801 and 802. In the fourth phase case of the embodiment of FIG. 4, the isointensity points are difficult to define and there are no strips as in FIGS.

  Having determined a penumbra area around a line of equal intensity with the effective cell area, the third stage of this embodiment is to determine a handover area. For each of the phase cases excluding the embodiment of FIG. 4, the area where each cell can perform a handover for each cell due to the intersection of the penumbra area around the effective cell area and an isointensity line Can be formed. As is the case in this case, the handover area from cell A to cell B is found as a combination of areas where two cells can perform the handover. For example, referring to the embodiment of FIG. 9, the handover area of a cellular device that is moving from cell A, 901 to cell B, 902 first moves the effective area of cell A to the penumbra around the isointensity line 904. It is determined by intersecting the rectangular strip 903 of the area, then intersecting the effective area of cell B with the rectangular strip 903 and then forming a combination of these two areas, which is displayed as the shaded area 905. The embodiment of FIG. 9 illustrates the determination of the handover area from cell A to cell B in the phase case of the embodiment of FIG. 2 where the rectangular strip 903 is clearly defined. In the phase case of the embodiment of FIG. 4 where a similar rectangular strip is not defined, the handover area from cell A to cell B has two active parts each containing either the first or second type of extension described above. Found as an intersection of cell areas. For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 10, the effective cell area of sector 1001 is expanded by the first type of extension unit 1002, and the effective cell area of sector 1003 is extended by the second type of extension units 1004, 1005, and 1006. . Since this is the same phase case as in FIG. 4, the handover area from cell 1001 to cell 1003 is equal to the intersection between two active cell areas, shown as shaded area 1007. The only difference between the handover area from cell A to cell B and the handover area from cell B to cell A is the penumbra around the isointensity line that occurs in the phase case of the embodiment of FIGS. Note that this is due to the asymmetry of the area.

  As can be seen from the embodiment of FIG. 10, the handover area 1007 determined by the embodiment of the present invention is much smaller than the effective area of the cell areas 1001 and 1003. Thus, on average, the method according to an embodiment of the invention for determining the handover area is more accurate in positioning the cellular device than in the prior art, which only depends on the location of the cell sector.

  Embodiments in accordance with the invention improve accuracy on average when a cellular network specifies the location of a cellular device using time progression data in addition to cell identifier data. FIG. 11 shows a ring sector 1101 used to model the evaluation position of a cellular device in such a case, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The additional time progression data limits the position of the handset to the ring sector 1101 between certain radii 1102 and 1103 from the antenna 1104. Use of time progression data or other possible data specified by the cellular network to narrow the modeled cell area--e.g. By changing the model to determine the effective cell area It can be used without contradiction. Thus, for example, in the embodiment of FIG. 11, the cell area is modeled as a ring sector, which is probably expanded to create an effective cell area in a manner similar to that described above. Other shaped cell areas may be used in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. Regardless of the shape of the effective cell area, the techniques according to embodiments of the present invention on average improve the positioning accuracy of the cellular device. For example, when the ring sector of FIG. 11 is used, an area reduction rate similar to that when using all sectors as described above can be obtained.

Those skilled in the art will empirically determine the above generalized parameters (parameters R ₁ , R ₂ , R ₃ , R ₄ , α, E ₁ , E ₂ , W ₁ and W ₂ ) and calibrate them by field tests. Can be recognized. For example, a test may be performed in which the actual location of the test cellular device is known and the actual location is empirically matched to the cell map to determine an appropriate value for the parameter. Parameters are statistically evaluated based on empirical results and improve as test results and other data accumulate over time. Other parameters may be used. In addition, selection from the parameters described above or completely different parameters may be used. When using a cellular system other than GSM, eg a CDMA based cellular system, the example is modified to model, for example, a handover area as a set of shapes resulting from different shapes or placement of cells in the active set. May be.

  According to embodiments of the present invention, a cellular device positioning system and method may be used as part of a traffic information system, such as described in Feldman et al., US Pat. No. 6,587,781, A schematic block diagram is shown in the embodiment of FIG. In this system, the position of each of a plurality of movement sensors of a vehicle traveling on the road network 12 analyzed to form the directional road subnetwork 14 is determined. Other road information sources may or may not be used to supplement movement detection. The position data 62 is collected from the movement sensor over time, periodically sampled by the sampler 1 and passed to the normalized travel time calculator 2. Based on the sample data, the travel time calculator 2 determines the average normalized travel time of each directional road portion of the network 14. The integrated and current diagram generator 3 uses the calculated normalized travel time along with data obtained from other sensors to generate a diagram of the current traffic condition on the road network. The predictor 4 then provides other information to the service engine 5, along with the patterns and rules from the rule generator 6, to predict traffic conditions using the current diagram or useful for various applications 7. The integrated and current diagram generator 3 includes various information sources including normalized travel time calculator 2, traffic data from fixed sensors 60, traffic data from traffic reports 64, and traffic data from other information sources 66. Integrate data from.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, a device that implements the technology for positioning cellular devices described herein can be used to generate traffic data using cellular device positions from devices in the vehicle. . For example, when the handover area of a cellular device is determined, the traffic system will identify the geographic area corresponding to the determined handover area of the vehicle in which the cellular device was located when the handover event occurred. It can be used as a position estimate. Based on the generation position and time data of a large number of the vehicles and data from other information sources, the normalized travel time calculator 2, or other traffic system components, includes various predictions including future traffic state predictions. A traffic condition diagram can be generated for usage. In one embodiment, techniques according to those described herein for geographically positioning cellular devices are implemented by the sampler module 1 of the embodiment of FIG. The sampler module 1 is sent location data 62 from the cellular network, which may include streaming data related to the cellular handover event. Location data 62 includes, for example, cell identifiers from cellular operators and time progression data, as well as vehicle location data from various other mobile sensor sources, such as GPS data or other floating vehicle data. Vehicle position data 62 from each different type of movement sensor source is sampled by its own adjusted sampler sub-module (included in sampler module 1 of FIG. 12). Multiple sampler sub-modules may be used to process different types of data from the same mobile sensor source. For example, separate sampler submodules may be used to process cellular handover data and cellular location server data.

  FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an apparatus for positioning a cellular device according to an embodiment of the present invention. This may be used, for example, in the traffic information system of the embodiment of FIG. As summarized in the block diagram of the embodiment of FIG. 13, the device 1305 for positioning a cellular device is an effective cell area module 1301 that determines a cell area, a half-shadow area around an isointensity line. A shadow area module 1302 and a handover area module 1303 for determining a handover area are included. The device 1305 for positioning the cellular device may be implemented with a variety of different types of hardware, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the techniques disclosed herein. For example, the device 1305 receives data related to cellular handover events generated by the cellular network, or other cellular data 1300, and generates the generated handover area as a location-based application 1304, eg, FIG. A computer processor or special signal processing device may be included for transmission to the traffic information system of the embodiment. The various method steps described in the embodiments herein may be implemented as routines of computer program code executing on the computer processor 1305 or as equivalent special circuitry for data processing.

  Also, an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention need not be implemented in the form of the embodiment of FIG. For example, two possible ways of implementing the technology herein are as follows (these examples are not intended to be limiting): In the first example, a cellular operator's cell map is made available to the system according to the present invention. In this case, all possible combinations of handover areas of neighboring cells can be determined off-line based on the cellular map and stored in a database accessible by the system according to the invention. As cellular data enters the system, the system queries the database using cell identifiers and / or time progression data, or other cellular network data for a particular handover event (eg, using an index table). This gives an appropriate handover area. Thus, in the first example, the function of the device 1305 is performed offline and the data 1300 is subsequently processed online with reference to the handover data created offline by the module 1303. In contrast, in the second embodiment, a cell map is not available for the system according to the invention. Instead, the system receives the geographical parameters of the cell associated with each handover event and calculates the handover area online based on the data stream, for example using the embodiment of FIG. The modules 1301-1303 in the example of FIG. 13 need not be directly mapped to different software modules, but instead, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, this software may be different or more complex to implement equivalent functionality. May have a different architecture.

  It will be appreciated that this embodiment allows for a wide range of changes without departing from the inventive concept. For example, the principles and advantages of the present invention use various current and future frequency division multiple access and / or code division multiple access (CDMA) networks, or time division multiple access (TDMA) in combination with FDMA and CDMA principles. Those skilled in the art can easily recognize that the present invention can be applied to other networks. Another example that has not been described so much is polarity division multiple access (PDMA).

  As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the above description describes what is considered the best mode and other modes suitable for practicing the invention, but the present invention has been disclosed in the description of the preferred embodiment. It should not be limited to any particular device configuration or method. For example, although various embodiments herein refer to the geographical positioning of a “cellular device”, the term communicates not only with mobile cellular telephones or other handsets, but also with cellular networks, for example. It will be appreciated that it should be recognized extensively with reference to other modules that communicate with the cellular network, such as probes, laptops and specialized computer equipment mounted on the vehicle. One skilled in the art can also recognize that the present invention has a wide range of applications, particularly location-based applications and services. For example, embodiments in accordance with the present invention for geographically positioning cellular devices include (but are not limited to) the positioning of cellular devices used for general location-based services, traffic information systems, and emergency number transmission. Can be used for a wide range of applications, including emergency purposes, escape planning, safety, information, and defense applications.

For a better understanding of the invention and how it is actually implemented, by way of example only, reference is made to the following accompanying drawings.
1 illustrates first and second cells of a cellular network having antennas located at the same point according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 illustrates a cell having antennas located at different points and facing each other in first and second cells of a cellular network according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 4 illustrates cells having antennas located at different points and having non-overlapping sectors in the first and second cells of a cellular network according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 illustrates cells having antennas located at different points, facing each other at an acute angle, and overlapping sectors in the first and second cells of a cellular network, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 illustrates an effective cell area with an extension of a sector when one antenna is included in a sector of the other cell, close to its one limit line, according to an embodiment of the present invention. An effective cell area with an extension of a sector when the second antenna is outside the sector limits of the first antenna and when the interior angle criterion is satisfied for the two edges of the sector, according to an embodiment of the invention Is illustrated. An effective cell area with an extension of a sector when the second antenna is outside the sector limits of the first antenna and when the internal angle criterion is satisfied for one edge of the sector, according to an embodiment of the invention Is illustrated. Fig. 4 illustrates the determination of a penumbra area around an equi-intensity line between two antennas when two cells have antennas located at the same point according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 illustrates the determination of a penumbra area around an equi-intensity line between two antennas when the two cells have antennas located at different points and facing each other according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 illustrates handover area determination when two cells have antennas located at different points and facing each other according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 6 illustrates determination of a handover area when an isointensity line is not clear according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 illustrates a ring sector used to model the evaluation position of a cellular device when the cellular network uses time progression data according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram of a traffic information system in which an embodiment of the present invention is used as part thereof. 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for positioning a cellular device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (73)

In a method of geographically positioning a cellular device,
Determining an effective cell area for each of the first and second cells of the cellular network;
Determining a handover area in which the cellular device will be located when control of the cellular device is transferred from the first cell to the second cell;
The determination of the handover area and the effective cell area of each of the first cell and the second cell is based on a topological relative position between the first cell and the second cell;
A method of geographically positioning a cellular device. The method of claim 1, wherein
Determining a penumbra area around a received isointensity line between the first cell and the second cell;
Including methods. The method of claim 1, wherein a cellular network includes a first antenna of the first cell and a second antenna of the second cell, wherein the topological relative position is:
A first phase case in which the first antenna and the second antenna are arranged at a common position;
A second phase case in which the first antenna and the second antenna are arranged at different positions, and the first cell and the second cell are located facing each other;
A third phase case in which the first antenna and the second antenna are arranged at different positions, and the first cell and the second cell do not overlap;
A fourth phase case in which none of the first, second and third phase cases is satisfied;
The method determined from 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the topological relative position between the first and second cells when the topological relative position is determined to be one of the first, second, or third phase cases. Determining a penumbra area around the received isointensity line. The method according to claim 2 or 4, wherein
Determining a possible handover area of the first cell by intersecting the effective cell area of the first cell with the penumbra area;
Determining a possible handover area of the second cell by intersecting the effective cell area of the second cell with the penumbra area;
Determining a handover area for cellular device control transfer by forming a combination of a possible handover area of the first cell and a possible handover area of the second cell;
A method further comprising: The method of claim 1, wherein
Determining the handover area of the cellular device control transfer by intersecting the effective cell area of the first cell with the effective cell area of the second cell;
A method further comprising: 4. The method of claim 3, wherein when the topological relative position is determined to be the fourth phase case, the effective cell area of the first cell is intersected with the effective cell area of the second cell. Determining the handover area for the transfer of control of the cellular device.   The method of claim 1, wherein determining the effective cell area comprises using cell identifier data.   The method of claim 1, wherein determining the effective cell area comprises using time progression data.   The method of claim 1, wherein determining the effective cell area includes determining effective radii of the first and second cells.   The method according to claim 10, wherein when the first antenna of the first cell and the second antenna of the second cell are arranged at a common position, the effective radius is determined as the radius of the sector-shaped cell. The method according to claim 10, wherein when the first antenna of the first cell and the second antenna of the second cell are not located at the common position, the effective radius is set to the distance between the first antenna and the second antenna. Determining by a product of a constant element based on the topological relative position of one cell and a second cell.   12. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the effective cell area further comprises expanding an edge of a sector shaped cell. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein expanding a sector-shaped cell edge includes when the first antenna of the first cell is included in the second cell and between the first antenna and the second cell. When the angle β formed by the line between the second antenna and the sector limit line of the second cell is smaller than the predetermined angle α,
Extending the second cell beyond the sector limit line;
Including methods.   15. The method of claim 14, wherein the second cell is expanded by a rectangular extension that exceeds the sector limit line. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein expanding the edge of a sector-shaped cell includes: when the first antenna of the first cell is outside the second cell; When the internal angle formed by the line between the antenna and the second antenna of the second cell is greater than 180 degrees,
Extending the second cell beyond the sector limit line;
Including methods.   17. The method of claim 16, wherein the second cell is extended by a rectangular extension that exceeds a sector limit line.   17. The method of claim 16, wherein the second cell is extended by a rectangular extension that exceeds two sector limit lines.   19. The method of claim 18, wherein the second cell is expanded with two rectangular extensions and further comprising expanding the second cell with a triangular extension connecting the two rectangular extensions. The method according to claim 2 or 4, wherein the step of determining the penumbra area comprises:
Determining the position of the line of equal intensity;
Determining a rectangular strip around the line of equal intensity;
Including a method.   21. The method of claim 20, wherein the step of determining the position of the equi-intensity line includes a step in which the first antenna of the first cell and the second antenna of the second cell are arranged at a common position. Determining a line of equal intensity as half the angle formed by the first azimuth angle of the cell and the second azimuth angle of the second cell.   21. The method of claim 20, wherein the step of determining equal strength lines includes forming a center line perpendicular to a line connecting the first antenna of the first cell and the second antenna of the second cell. Including a method.   21. The method of claim 20, wherein the rectangular strip has an asymmetric width around the isointensity line.   24. The method of claim 23, wherein the width W1 of the first rectangular strip between the isointensity line and a first strip limit proximate to a cell in which the cellular device is entering is equal to the isointensity line and the cellular device. Longer than the width W2 of the second rectangular strip between the second strip limit proximate to the cell about to exit. The method of claim 1, wherein
Generating vehicle traffic data based at least in part on the handover area;
Further comprising a method. 26. The method of claim 25, wherein
Sampling data received from the cellular network to determine a handover area;
Further comprising a method. The method of claim 26.
Sampling vehicle position data from a plurality of different movement sensor sources to generate vehicle traffic data;
Further comprising a method. 26. The method of claim 25, wherein
Storing predetermined handover areas of the first cell and the second cell in a database;
Determining a handover area by querying a database when receiving data from a cellular network for handover between a first cell and a second cell;
Further comprising a method. 26. The method of claim 25, wherein
Determining a handover area using an online sampler responsive to streaming data received from the cellular network;
Further comprising a method.   The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second cells are one of frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), polarity division multiple access (PDMA), and code division multiple access (CDMA). A method comprising part of one or more cellular network operating principles.   The method of claim 1, further comprising a third cell consideration, wherein the first, second and third cells comprise a part of a CDMA or WCDMA cellular network.   32. The method of claim 31, further comprising consideration of a fourth cell, wherein the first, second, third and fourth cells comprise a part of a CDMA or WCDMA cellular network. In a method of geographically positioning a cellular device in a cellular network including a first antenna of a first cell and a second antenna of a second cell,
Determining an effective radius R _i for each of a set of i different topological relative positions between the first cell and the second cell;
When the first antenna is included in the second cell and the angle β formed by the line between the first antenna and the second antenna and the sector limit line of the second cell is smaller than the angle α, the second Determining an angle α by which the cell is extended beyond the sector limit line;
Determining a first extension width E ₁ of the first rectangular extension portion angle β is added to the sector limit line of the second cell during a smaller angle alpha,
When the first antenna is outside the second cell, and the interior angle formed between the sector limit line of the second cell and the line between the first antenna and the second antenna is 180 degrees or more, determining a second extension width E ₂ of the second rectangular extension portion which is added to the sector limit line of the second cell,
The first penumbra width W of the first rectangular strip between the equal strength lines of signal reception from the first and second antennas and the first strip limit adjacent to the cell in which the cellular device is about to enter. Determining ₁ and
The method comprising: second determining a Hankagehaba W ₂ of the second rectangular strip between the second strip limit adjacent cell lines and cellular devices of equal strength trying to go out,
Determining a handover area in which the cellular apparatus will be located when control of the cellular apparatus is transferred from the first cell to the second cell, the determination of the handover area comprising at least an effective radius R _i , an angle determining based on a subset of α, first extended width E ₁ , second extended width E ₂ , first penumbra width W ₁ , second penumbra width W ₂ ;
Including methods. In a device for geographically positioning a cellular device,
An effective cell area module for determining an effective cell area for each of the first cell and the second cell of the cellular network;
A handover area module that determines a handover area in which the cellular device will be located when control of the cellular device is transferred from the first cell to the second cell;
The apparatus, wherein the effective cell area for each of the handover area, the first cell, and the second cell is determined based on a topological relative position between the first cell and the second cell. 35. The apparatus of claim 34.
A penumbra area module for determining a penumbra area around a line of equal intensity of reception between the first cell and the second cell;
Further comprising an apparatus. 35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the cellular network includes a first antenna of a first cell and a second antenna of a second cell, wherein the phase relative position is determined from the following phase cases:
A first phase case in which the first antenna and the second antenna are arranged at a common position;
A second phase case in which the first antenna and the second antenna are arranged at different positions, and the first cell and the second cell face each other;
A third phase case in which the first antenna and the second antenna are arranged at different positions, and the first cell and the second cell do not overlap;
A fourth phase case in which none of the first, second and third phase cases is satisfied;
Including the device. 37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein a penumbra area module is configured to determine whether the topological relative position between the first cell and the second cell when the topological relative position is determined to be one of the first, second, or third phase cases. A device comprising a device for determining a penumbra area around an isointensity receiving line between. 38. The apparatus of claim 35 or 37, wherein the handover area module is
Determining the first cell capable handover area by intersecting the effective cell area of the first cell with the penumbra area;
Determining a second cell-capable handover area by intersecting the effective cell area of the second cell with the penumbra area;
An apparatus comprising an apparatus for determining a handover area for transfer of control of a cellular device by forming a combination of a first cell capable handover area and a second cell capable handover area.   35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the handover area module is an apparatus for determining a handover area for transfer of control of a cellular device by intersecting the effective cell area of the first cell with the effective cell area of the second cell. Including the device. 37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the handover area module intersects the effective cell area of the first cell with the effective cell area of the second cell when the topological relative position is determined to be a fourth phase relationship. An apparatus comprising: an apparatus for determining a handover area for transfer of control of a cellular apparatus by causing   35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the valid cell area module includes a device that uses cell identifier data.   35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the valid cell area module includes a device that uses time progression data.   35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the effective cell area module includes an apparatus for determining an effective radius of the first cell and the second cell.   44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the effective cell area module determines the effective radius as the radius of the sector shaped cell when the first antenna of the first cell and the second antenna of the second cell are located at a common location. Devices, including devices to 45. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the effective cell area module is located between the first antenna and the second antenna when the first antenna of the first cell and the second antenna of the second cell are not located at a common position. An apparatus comprising: an apparatus for determining an effective radius as a product of a distance and a constant element based on the topological relative position between a first cell and a second cell.   44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the effective cell area module includes an apparatus for determining an extension of a sector-shaped cell edge. 49. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the effective cell area module is
Whether the first antenna of the first cell is included in the second cell, an angle β formed by a line between the first antenna and the second antenna of the second cell and the sector limit line of the second cell is predetermined. Determine if the angle is less than α, in which case
By extending the second cell beyond the sector limit line,
An apparatus comprising an apparatus for determining an extension of an edge of a sector-shaped cell.   48. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the effective cell area module includes an apparatus for extending the second cell with a rectangular extension beyond a sector limit line. 49. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the effective cell area module is
Whether the first antenna of the first cell is outside the second cell, the internal angle formed by the sector limit line of the second cell and the line between the first antenna and the second antenna of the second cell is 180 degrees Determine whether it is greater than,
By extending the second cell beyond the sector limit line,
An apparatus comprising an apparatus for determining an extension of an edge of a sector-shaped cell.   50. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the effective cell area module includes an apparatus for extending the second cell with a rectangular extension beyond a sector limit line.   50. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the effective cell area module includes an apparatus for extending the second cell with a rectangular extension beyond two sector limit lines.   52. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the effective cell area module includes an apparatus that expands the second cell with a triangular extension connecting two rectangular extensions. 38. The apparatus of claim 35 or 37, wherein the penumbra area module is
Determine the position of the line of equal intensity,
Determine a rectangular strip around a line of equal strength,
A device, including a device.   54. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the apparatus for determining the position of the line of equal intensity includes the first cell of the first cell when the first antenna of the first cell and the second antenna of the second cell are arranged at a common position. An apparatus comprising an apparatus for determining an isointensity line as a bisector of an angle formed by one azimuth angle and a second azimuth angle of a second cell.   54. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the apparatus for determining the position of the line of equal strength includes an apparatus for forming a center line perpendicular to a line connecting the first antenna of the first cell and the second antenna of the second cell. ,apparatus.   54. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the rectangular strip is asymmetric width around an isointensity line. The apparatus of claim 56, the width W ₁ of the first rectangular strip between the first strip limit close to the cell line and the cellular system of equal strength is a let enter the equal strength lines and cellular devices longer than the width W ₂ of the second rectangular strip between the second strip limit proximate the cell is trying to go out, device. 35. The apparatus of claim 34.
A vehicle traffic information system sampler module;
Further comprising an apparatus.   59. The apparatus of claim 58, wherein the sampler module includes a plurality of sampler sub-modules that sample vehicle position data from a plurality of different movement sensor sources. 59. The apparatus of claim 58, wherein
A database for storing handover areas, wherein the handover area is predetermined so that the database can be queried based on streaming data from the cellular network; and
Further comprising a device. 34. A method according to claim 1 or 33, wherein:
Repetitively geographically positioning at least some positions of the plurality of cellular devices;
Further including determining a Figure of traffic flows by sampling at least some positions, a cellular device, the method.   62. The method of claim 61, further comprising predicting future traffic conditions based on a traffic flow diagram.   62. The method of claim 61, wherein handover decisions are made by querying a database of predetermined handover areas for cell pairs and cell sets using handover data from a cellular network.   62. The method of claim 61, wherein the handover decision is made using streaming handover data from the cellular network.   65. The method of claim 63 or 64, wherein the handover data includes cell identifier data.   65. A method according to claim 63 or 64, wherein the handover data comprises time progression data. Te device smell of claim 34,
At least some of the set of geographic positioning of multiple several cellular device is sampled, the traffic flow further comprises a sampler module that determines the current diagram, a device for monitoring traffic flow. 68. The apparatus of claim 67.
A prediction module that predicts future traffic conditions based on current traffic flow diagrams;
Further comprising an apparatus. 68. The apparatus of claim 67.
A handover area database including a predetermined handover area of a cell pair or set of cells;
Further comprising an apparatus.   70. The apparatus of claim 69, wherein the handover area module is capable of querying a handover area database using streaming handover data from a cellular network.   68. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein the handover area module is capable of determining a handover area online based on streaming handover data from the cellular network.   72. The apparatus of claim 70 or 71, wherein the handover data includes cell identifier data.   72. The apparatus of claim 70 or 71, wherein the handover data includes time progression data.

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